At least initially, everything seemed bleak and ugly in south Philadelphia.
With their eyes set on securing a playoff spot, the Eagles came out lackadaisical against the Giants on Sunday afternoon. During their first five drives, they punted four times and kicker Jake Elliott had a rare miss on a 41-yard field goal attempt. The game was tied at 3 at halftime.
But similar to DeVonta Smith’s ability to change directions on a dime, the Eagles revived themselves with an explosive effort in the second half, blowing out their division rivals in a 34-10 victory.
Paired with a Vikings loss to the Rams, the Eagles climbed into the No. 7 seed in the NFC. The Eagles now control their playoff destiny with only two regular season games remaining.
Smith reliable for Hurts
One of the main knocks on second-year quarterback Jalen Hurts is his ability to diagnose his progressions in real time. There have been many times this season where it seems Hurts locks onto one target and his eyes fail to properly go through his other reads. That occurred again Sunday afternoon.
The most glaring example was in the first half when Hurts missed a wide-open Dallas Goedert in the end zone. On the play that occurred on third-and-goal, Hurts faced pressure and he quickly settled for an underneath completion that fell short of the pylon. Meanwhile, Goedert ran an out route to the right side and had no one within 10 yards of him.
Hurts eventually overcame those early mishaps, and Nick Sirianni’s play calling also improved as the game progressed. Hurts completed 17-of-29 passes for 199 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Hurts set the club record last week for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single season when he scored Nos. 9 and 10 — but he didn’t create much with his legs against the Giants. He finished with just two rushes for seven yards.
On multiple passes, receivers made smart in-air adjustments on deep shots that were under-thrown by Hurts. DeVonta Smith slowed down to haul in a jump ball over safety Julian Love for a 46-yard reception; Quez Watkins tracked down another under-thrown pass and successfully snagged a 31-yard catch with Love again in coverage.
Smith paced the Eagles with game highs of 80 yards on five catches, including a touchdown in the third quarter. Smith upped his season total to 821 receiving yards. He now needs just 92 more yards to break DeSean Jackson’s franchise record for most receiving yards by a rookie wideout.
Stout defense
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon has been reluctant to blitz early in games. His makeup often relies on disguises with more players ending up in coverage rather than straight-up pressure. However, Gannon was quick to dial up the pressure against quarterback Jake Fromm, who was making his first career start. It turned out to be a wise decision.
Facing an active defensive front, Fromm looked like a lost puppy in the pocket. Before he was benched in the second half in favor of Mike Glennon, Fromm completed just 6-of-17 passes for 25 yards and one interception
as safety Rodney McLeod picked off a third-quarter pass. Fromm was sacked twice and hit four times.
Kicker Graham Gano converted a 54-yard field goal in the second quarter and the Giants added a touchdown in garbage time, but for a majority of the contest, the defense stood pat.
RB report
Following Tuesday’s game, running back Miles Sanders stepped onto the podium for his postgame press conference. Showing a slight limp, Sanders began the session by taking a deep breath before mumbling : “Man, being a running back is hard,” alluding to the injuries he’s faced in recent months.
Unfortunately for Sanders, he suffered another setback — this time it was his hand that forced him out of the game before the end of the first half. Ahead of the Giants game, Sanders was listed as a non-participant in practice with a quad injury.
The health of the backfield will be worth monitoring over the final two weeks. Running back Jordan Howard also suffered a stinger and did not return. Rookie tailback Kenneth Gainwell also needed to enter the medical tent, but he remained on the sideline.
But Boston Scott came on and continued to build on his impressive resume against the Giants.
Early in the second half, the third-year running back scampered into the end zone thanks to an incredible push from the left side of the offensive line. It was Scott’s 12th career touchdown — including his eighth against the Giants. In a backup role, Scott finished with 12 carries for 41 rushing yards and one score.
